Lathing



July 18, 1939.

. A. KARELIUS LA'I'HING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1938 A rromve-ys July 18, 1939. c. A. YKARELIUS 2,156,443

LATHING Filed Jan. 25, 1958 2 sheets-sheet 2 A rroexve Y5 x Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LATHING Carl A. Karelius, Pasadena, Calif.

Application January 25, 1938, Serial No. 186,831

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to building construction and more particularly to lathing which provides a foundation for plaster or other cementitious material used in forming walls and ceilings.

An object of the invention is to provide lathing of the wire and backing sheet type which is structurally characterized in a manner to enable the second coat of plaster to be applied immediately after the first coat without disp-lacing'the latter or affecting its bond with the backing sheet and wire, whereby to effect a saving in labor and to avoid parting of one coat from another as a result of inefficient bonding of the second coat to the first coat when the latter is permitted to set for a day or more, as is the present practice. Another object of the invention is to provide lathing wherein the backing'sheet and reinforcing wires are correlated to prevent excessive flex- 1 ing of the backing sheet and to insuresubstantially unitary movement of the latter and the wires when applying the plaster, so as to obviate breaking of the temporary suction bond between theplastic mass and the backing sheet, as well as loosening of the mass from the wires by pressure of the trowel during working of the wet plaster coat.

Another object of the invention is to provide lathing which enables a plaster coat of uniform 301 thickness to be obtained so as to produce a wall of maximum strength with a minimum amount of plaster.

A further object of the invention is to provide Wire reinforced lathifig wlfich can be cut or trimmed to any size required and yet retain support for the back sheet by wires at both sides thereof to its edges, and which enables lapped selvage edgesof adjacent sections of the lath ing to be anchored together by the plaster to obtain the effect of a continuous lath foundation throughout the entire area of a wall or ceiling.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the following combinations and arrangements of elements as set forth in pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a View in front elevation of the lathing embodying this invention, as applied to joists or studs;

Figure 2 is a view of the lathing in rear elevation;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure '1;

the following specification and particularly Figure 4 is a view in rear elevation showing the lathing with plaster applied thereto;

Figure 5, 6, 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views taken, respectively, on the lines 5-5, 6-6, 'l-'! and 8-8 of Figure 4.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention in its present embodiment comprises a backing sheet iii of building paper, cardboard or other similar material having openings l I therethrough, arranged in longitudinal and transverse rows. These openings are illustrated as being square in outline and are disposed obliquely with respect to the directions of the rows as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2.

At the rear of the backing sheet are stiffener members l2 in the form of metal bars of substantially V shape in cross section, which are disposed tospan alternate rows of the openings ll. Arranged intermediate and in parallelism with the members 12 are rear wires l3 which span alternate rows of the openings ll. Other rear wires I 4 are disposed at a right angle to the members l2 and wires l3 so as to be in intersecting relation thereo, and to span alternate rows of the openings H, all as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2; 1

The wires I4 are electrically welded or otherwise permanently secured to the wires I3 and members l2 at their points of intersection therewith, and are woven in and out of the wires l3 and. members !2 so as to be disposed at the rear of the wires l3 and at the front of the members 12.

At the front of the backing sheet are wires l5 arranged intermediate and in parallelism with the wires l4 so as to span alternate rows of the openings H. The front wires l5 are electrically welded or otherwise permanently secured to the members [2 and rear wires I3 at their points of intersection therewith. Other front wires l6 are disposed midway between and in parallelism with the members 12 and rear wires l3, and are electrically welded to the first mentioned front wires l5 at their points of intersection therewith, as clearly shown in Figure 1. 7 Sheets of the lathing as above described are nailed or stapled to joists or studs A at the stiffener members 12 as indicated at I! in Figure 1, so that the edges of adjacent Sheets overlap approximately the distance between the wires l4 and It: in order to provide for maximum keying of the sheets together when plaster is applied thereto.

When the sheets of lathing are thus in place, a coat of plaster is applied thereto, portions of the plaster being forced through the openings 1 I around the stiffener members I2 and around the wires l3, l4 and 15 at their points of intersection in the respective openings, so as to form protuberances or keys K in the openings. Plaster is also forced between the front wires I5, !6 and the backing sheet Hi to form additional keys K and K shown in Figures 5 and 6, respectively.

A second coat of plaster is immediately applied to the first coat and will not dislodge the latter from the wires and the backing sheet, due to the fact that the front and rear wires co-act to compel movement of the lathing resulting from pressure of the trowel, to take place generally as a unitary movement of the entire lathing structure rather than one in which excessive flexing of the backing sheet relative to the wires is effected and causes the temporary suction bond between the softened backing sheet and first wet coat of plaster to be broken.

Furthermore, the keys K, in addition to locking the plaster to the members l2 and to the front and rear wires l3, l4 and I5, prevent shifting of the plastic mass parallel to the plane of the lathing as the mass is being worked with a trowel, thus further insuring that the first wet coat of plaster will not become dislodged from the lathing. It will be noted that the keys K are also formed at the lap joints between sheets of the lathing so that the latter are locked together to have the effect of a continuous sheet over the entire area of a Wall.

It will be appreciated that should any of the welded connections between the wires and between the members l2 and the wires become broken, that the keys K will adequately support the plaster slab, and that the stiffener members I 2, in addition to their reinforcing function, provide maximum anchorage for the plaster slab through the medium of the keys, as well as take the place of wires.

As a result of minimum flexing of the backing sheet, a more uniform thickness of plaster can be maintained throughout the area of the slab so as to obtain maximum strength with a minimum quantity of plaster. By the elimination of all lateral oifsets in the wires employed, the stretching of the wires is overcome, and cracking of plaster from this source prevented.

Irrespective of the location at which a sheet of the lathing may be trimmed longitudinally or transversely, the front and rear wires will support the backing sheet l0 to its edges, and the trimming operation can be effected at such points that the wires l3, l6 or M, 15 will provide a selvage edge with the backing sheet securely held against lateral displacement, all as clearly shown in Figure 1.

It has been found in practice that by the use of the lathing embodying this invention two coats of plaster can be successfully applied, one immediately after the other, so as to obtain the advantage of a perfect physical bond between two wet coats, and to eliminate the delay and added labor otherwise necessary to later apply the second coat.

What is claimed is:

1. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged intermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said openings; other rear wires intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at said openings; and means co-acting with the stiffener members and wires to secure them against displacement from the backing sheet.

2. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arrangedintermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said openings; other rear wires intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at said openings; and front wires at the other side of said sheet, intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at others of said openings, for co-action in securing the members and wires to the sheet.

3 Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged intermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet and spanning others of said openings; other rear wires intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at said openings; front wires at the other side of said sheet intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at others of said openings, for co-action in securing the members and wires to the sheet; and other front wires at said other side of the sheet, intersecting and secured to the first said front wires intermediate the stiffener members and first said rear wires.

4. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged intermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said openings; other'rear wires intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at said openings; front wires at the other side of said sheet, intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at others of said openings, for co-action in securing the members and wires to the sheet; and other front wires at said other side of the sheet, intersecting and secured to the first said front wires intermediate the stiffener members and first said rear wires, said front and rear wires co-acting in their intersecting relationship, to support the backing sheet laterally, and to provide a selvage edge along the longitudinal and transverse edges of the backing sheet.

5. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged in termediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said openings; other rear Wires intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at said openings; front wires at the other side of said sheet, intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at others of said openings, for co-action in securing the members and wires to the sheet; said front and rear wires co-acting to support the backing sheet to its longitudinal and transverse edges irrespective of the size to which the lathing is trimmed.

6. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged intermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said openings; other rear wires intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at said openings; front wires at the other side of said sheet, intersecting and secured to said members and first said rear wires at others of said openings, for co-acting in securing the members and wires to the sheet; and other front wires at said other side of the sheet, intersecting and secured to the first said front wires intermediate the stiffener members and first said rear wires, said front and rear wires co-acting in their intersecting relationship, to support the backing sheet laterally, and to provide a slevage edge along the longitudinal and transverse edges of the backing sheet, the selvage edge of one lathing adapted to overlap the selvage edge of another lathing to enable the adjacent lathings to be anchored together by plaster so as to have the effect of a continuous foundation.

7. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged intermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said openings; front wires at the other side of said sheet, intersecting and secured to said members and said rear wires at others of said openings, for co-action in securing the members and wires to the sheet; and other front wires at said other side of the sheet, intersecting and secured to the first said front wires intermediate the stiffener members and said rear wires, said front and rear wires co-acting in their intersecting relationship, to support the backing sheet laterally, and to provide a selvage edge along the longitudinal and transverse edges of the backing sheet.

8. Lathing comprising a backing sheet having openings therein; stiffener members arranged in spaced parallelism at one side of said sheet and spanning said openings; rear wires arranged intermediate and parallel to said members at said one side of said sheet, and spanning others of said. openings; front wires at the other side of said sheet, intersecting and secured to said members and said rear wires at others of said openings, for coacting in securing the members and wires to the sheet; and other front wires at said other side of the sheet, intersecting and secured to the first said front wires intermediate the stiffener members and said rear wires, said front and rear wires co-acting in their intersecting relationship, to support the backing sheet laterally, and to provide a selvage edge along the longitudinal and transverse edges of the backing sheet, the selvage edge of one lathing adapted to overlap the selvage edge of another lathing to enable the adjacent lathings to be anchored together by plaster so as to have the effect of a continuous foundation.

CARL A. KARELIUS. 

